The Imperfect Tense of Construir is used to describe ongoing or repeated actions in the past, for example: Construían una casa nueva en el vecindario. (They were building a new house in the neighborhood.)

Construir is a regular -ir verb, so its Imperfect Tense conjugations follow the typical pattern for this verb type.

Conjugations

Conjugations of Construir (to build) in the Imperfect Tense tense (Latin American Spanish):

The imperfect tense of construir is used to describe ongoing, repeated or habitual actions in the past.

Building or constructing something in progress: For example, Construía una casa nueva para mi familia. (I was building a new house for my family.) This conveys the idea of an action that was underway but not necessarily completed.

Habitual or repeated actions in the past: For example, Cuando era niño, construía castillos de arena en la playa. (When I was a child, I used to build sandcastles on the beach.) This usage highlights actions that occurred regularly or repeatedly in the past.

Setting the scene or describing circumstances: For example, En aquel entonces, construían edificios sin considerar el impacto ambiental. (Back then, they were building buildings without considering the environmental impact.) This sets the context or background for a story or situation.

Expressing ongoing states or situations: For example, La empresa construía su nueva sede en la ciudad. (The company was building its new headquarters in the city.) This denotes a situation or state that was ongoing at a particular time in the past.

Colloquial or idiomatic usage (slang): For example, “¡Construye, hermano! ¡Estás haciendo un gran trabajo!” (Keep it up, bro! You’re doing a great job!) In this slang usage, “construir” is used to encourage someone or express admiration for their efforts or achievements.

Examples

Examples of Construir in the Imperfect Tense

Yo construía castillos de arena en la playa cuando era niño. (I used to build sandcastles on the beach when I was a child.)

Ellos construían una casa nueva cada año. (They used to build a new house every year.)

Nosotros construíamos fuertes con almohadas cuando jugábamos de niños. (We used to build forts with pillows when we played as children.)

Tú construías torres muy altas con tus bloques de juguete. (You used to build very tall towers with your toy blocks.)

Ella construía muebles hermosos en su taller de carpintería. (She used to build beautiful furniture in her woodworking shop.)

¿Construías casas de muñecas cuando eras pequeña? (Did you use to build dollhouses when you were little?)

Mi abuelo construía barcos a vela en su tiempo libre. (My grandfather used to build sailboats in his free time.)

Los ingenieros construían puentes resistentes para cruzar los ríos. (The engineers used to build sturdy bridges to cross rivers.)

Antes, la gente construía sus propias casas con sus propias manos. (In the past, people used to build their own houses with their own hands.)

Cuando era joven, construía maquetas de aviones como pasatiempo. (When I was young, I used to build model airplanes as a hobby.)

En la escuela, construíamos proyectos de ciencias con materiales reciclados. (In school, we used to build science projects with recycled materials.)

Mi tío construía muebles rústicos y los vendía en el mercado local. (My uncle used to build rustic furniture and sell it at the local market.)

Los niños construían casitas en los árboles para jugar. (The children used to build treehouses to play in.)

Antes de la industrialización, la gente construía sus propias herramientas a mano. (Before industrialization, people used to build their own tools by hand.)

En las vacaciones, construíamos cabañas en el bosque para acampar. (During vacations, we used to build cabins in the woods for camping.)

Conjugations with English Translations

Conjugations of Construir (to build) in the Imperfect Tense tense (Latin American Spanish) with English Translations:

This post covers Latin American Spanish. For Castilian Spanish, click here

Synonyms

The Imperfect tense is also known as the Past Imperfect, Descriptive Past, Past Progressive, or Imperfect Indicative in English, and as Pretérito Imperfecto, Copretérito, Imperfecto de Indicativo, or Pasado Descriptivo in Spanish.